Statement By Irish Green Party Leader John Gormley: "The People Feel Misled And Betrayed", Calls For Irish Elections

The past week has been a traumatic one for the Irish electorate. People feel misled and betrayed.

The Green Party believes three things must be done in the coming two
months to safeguard the future prosperity and independence of the Irish
people.

These are:

Producing a credible four-year plan to show we can make our Budgets balance by 2014.

Delivering a Budget for 2011.

Securing funding support from the EU and IMF which will respect vital Irish interests and restore stability to the Euro area.

We
have always said that our involvement in government would only continue
as long as it was for the benefit of the Irish people. Leaving the
country without a government while these matters are unresolved would be
very damaging and would breach our duty of care.

But we have now reached a point where the Irish people need political
certainty to take them beyond the coming two months. So, we believe it
is time to fix a date for a general election in the second half of
January 2011.

We made our decision last Saturday after a long series of meetings.

Since entering government in June 2007, we in the Green Party have
worked to fix and reform the economy. It has been difficult. We have
taken tough decisions and put the national interest first.

We cannot go back and reverse the property bubble and the reckless
banking which we consistently spoke opposed. Nor can we control the
market turmoil which has afflicted the Euro area.

We have taken extensive measures to recognise the losses and stabilise
our banking system. However, it is now clear we need further measures to
give market confidence about our banks and public finances.

We are now discussing ways of restoring stability to the banking system
with the support of our European colleagues and the IMF. We have to
ensure that the terms of any such support are in the interests of the
Irish people and the wider Euro area. The timeframe for achieving a
four-year plan, Budget 2011 and a good outcome from IMF/EU talks is very
short. These matters must at this stage take priority ahead of
everything else.

Despite our difficulties and disappointments, I believe we can get out
of this situation. We must all work together to ensure the best outcome
for everyone.